Clovis bank receives third bomb threat

October 16, 2007

By Sharna Johnson: Freedom New Mexico

Clovis’ Bank of America received its third bomb scare in five months on Tuesday.

Police evacuated the bank at the corner of Prince and Manana streets and secured the parking lot around 1 p.m. after a woman called a business next door and said there was a bomb in the bank, Clovis police Lt. Jim Schoeffel said.

Schoeffel said the bank was searched and declared clear by officers. “There was nothing there,” he said.

The bank reopened at 3 p.m.

“The safety and security of our customers and our associates is our top priority,” said Britney Sheehan of Bank of America’s media relations office in Miami.

Sheehan said the bank has a variety of security measures in place, however, she would not discuss them for security reasons. She said she would not discuss if the company is conducting its own investigation.

“We are cooperating fully with authorities,” Sheehan said.

The bank was evacuated June 11 and June 29 after bomb threats were phoned in.

Schoeffel said no other bomb threats have been reported in the city in the last three months.

In the June 11 incident, a female caller told dispatchers a bomb was going to be brought to the bank.

K-9 explosive detection and an Explosive Ordnance team from Cannon Air Force Base responded and determined there was no threat.

In the June 29 incident, a female caller told bank personnel there was a bomb. Police again evacuated and searched the building, but found nothing.

Police records show in the earlier incidents the calls were traced to a pay phone at a convenience store on Mitchell Street.

There have been no arrests made in any of the cases.

Bomb threats are classified as fourth-degree felonies and conviction can result in up to 18 months imprisonment, Schoeffel said.